Why People Love Wood-Burning Fireplaces

There’s a lot to love about wood-burning fireplaces – especially if yours is powerful and efficient and produces all the heat and ambience you need. The best way to get all this and more is with a new zero-clearance (ZC) fireplace or high-performing fireplace insert.

ZC fireplaces are factory-made and ready to install in virtually any wall in your home. They’re highly insulated and safe to be placed right next to vulnerable materials such as walls and insulation. Zero-clearance wood fireplaces have their own venting system, so there’s no need to build a chimney.

Fireplace inserts are like fireplaces in a box that fit directly into your existing masonry fireplace’s firebox. Wood-burning inserts, like ZC fireplaces, produce far more heat than standard masonry fireplaces and look gorgeous while doing it.

Benefits of heating with wood

A new wood-burning fireplace will bring you a load of benefits. Here are six of them.

1. Costs less

Wood is one of the least-expensive heating fuels – cheaper than natural gas, oil and coal. Watch utility bills shrink when you use wood for supplemental heating.

2. Wood is renewable, sustainable & eco-friendly

Environmentally conscious homeowners love the fact that wood is a natural fuel source and leaves no carbon footprint on the environment. Burning firewood produces no more harmful emissions than trees naturally decomposing in the forest. As long as there are trees, there will be firewood.

3. High heating performance

Burning wood in a zero-clearance fireplace or fireplace insert produces a lot of heat. These appliances often come with heat-efficiency ratings of 80% and higher, meaning the majority of the heat they generate will be conserved as heat for your home. (By contrast, open masonry fireplaces often have ratings of 20% or lower.)

4. Unmatched ambience

There’s nothing like a wood fire roaring and crackling in the fireplace. The flame shadows, the crackling logs, the subtle nostalgic aroma – it’s hard to beat a wood fireplace on cold winter nights.

5. Power outages – no problem

During a bad storm, if electrical and gas supplies are knocked out, your wood fireplace will keep going strong. As long as you have a supply of logs, you’ll make it through the worst that winter can throw at you.

6. Remarkable beauty

Modern wood-burning fireplaces and fireplace inserts are designed not only for performance and safety but also for beauty and elegance. When shopping for a new appliance, you’ll be amazed at the wide selection of sizes, styles, finishes and colors, making it easy to perfectly complement your home’s current décor.

Wood fireplace installation

To ensure safe and efficient performance, your new fireplace or insert installation should be performed by a certified, licensed professional. Many problems can arise during and after the installation process, and a trained installer knows how to do the job right and prevent any trouble down the line.

Your installer also can help you before your purchase by going over the specs of different models and offer advice based on your room size and heating needs. Most professional fireplace installers also perform chimney and vent cleaning, annual fireplace inspections and all manner of repairs to heating appliances and chimneys.

Are you in the market for a beautiful new wood-burning fireplace or fireplace insert? Felgemacher Masonry & Chimney of Buffalo, NY, can help you select the perfect model from our hearth store, Felgemacher Fireplace Shop, located at 2727 Broadway Suite 5 in Cheektowaga. We’ll then install your appliance correctly and in accord with all local fire-safety and building codes.

Call the experts at Felgemacher today at (716) 907-4914.